Stylistic differences in the developing 2012 Republican presidential campaign began to appear during a conference of conservatives in Des Moines Saturday that included five potential candidates.

The five possible prospects who spoke at the conference sponsored by Iowa Congressman Steve King focused primarily on their uniform opposition to Democratic President Barack Obama and his policy initiatives.

But Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Godfather’s Pizza CEO Herman Cain said in their speeches that Republicans must focus both on social values and economic issues during the 2012 campaign.

Meanwhile, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour spent his 20 minutes focused solely on fiscal conservatism and the economy, never mentioning cultural issues dear to many in the Republican caucus base.

“When we talk about these policies, I urge you to remember the most important things, cutting spending is the means to the end,” Barbour said, echoing a speech he gave in Davenport earlier this month. “The end is to grow our economy to continue to create a number of jobs.”

The fifth possible candidate, former United Nations Ambassador John Bolton, focused on foreign policy.

The nuanced difference in messages about fiscal and social conservatism to the more than 500 Republicans and conservatives in attendance reflects the varying priorities among activists in the state expected to host the leadoff presidential caucuses next year.

The event was sponsored by King’s Conservative Principles PAC and was aimed at giving voice to White House prospects and conservative policy advocates.

Barbour, who said he plans to announce his 2012 political plans after the Mississippi Legislature adjourns next month, embraces positions on social issues in line with most conservatives. But in his speech, he listed only Obama’s domestic policies as points of disagreement.

Gingrich, who followed Barbour, argued that public education curriculum in the United States ought to include teaching that the nation’s foundings are based in Christian faith.

“I don’t care what the ACLU says, they should teach it accurately, that we hold these truths to be self evident that we are endowed by our creator,” Gingrich said, stressing the word “creator.”

“If you don’t start with values, the rest of it doesn’t matter,” he said.

Cain, who has a core of followers in tea party circles, touched on both social and economic issues, but stuck to broad philosophical themes.

“We don’t need to rewrite the Declaration of Independence. We don’t need to rewrite the Constitution. We need to enforce the Constitution,” Cain, an Atlanta radio talk show host said.

The forum Saturday at Des Moines’ downtown Marriott hotel capped a month of increased activity by would-be Republican presidential candidates in Iowa. It also included appearances by leading conservative figures, such as South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint.

DeMint, a popular figure among tea party and grass-roots conservatives, was the evening banquet’s keynote speaker. He repeated at the banquet that he is not going to run for president.

But DeMint urged Iowans, with their coveted perch at the front of the nominating campaign, to test those who do run for their willingness to hold out for conservative principles such as deep spending cuts, a balanced budget amendment and a limited foreign policy.

“If you want to know which one’s on your side, see what they say publicly over the next several months and the next year,” he said. “You’ll know if they have the boldness and courage.”

DeMint stressed mainly fiscal policy during his 25-minute speech.

Bachmann, Barbour, Cain and Gingrich were among more than a half-dozen White House prospects who have attended events in the state in recent weeks. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had planned to attend King’s conference, but canceled Friday because of a family medical emergency.

Other Republicans weighing 2012 campaigns include former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, U.S. Ambassador to China John Huntsman and others.

Bachmann, a favorite with supporters of the tea party movement, captures the fervor of activists looking for cultural as well as economic conservatives, said Jeff Jorgenson, chairman of the Pottawattamie County Republican Party.

“I don’t separate the two. My economic views and moral outlook are the same, and is what I’m looking for in a presidential candidate,” he said. “We’re wrong if we separate them.”

Dick and Jean Lees, a Republican couple from Carroll attending the conference in Des Moines, said they considered a strong fiscal and economic message the most important trait, followed closely by a clear path to beating Obama, in their decision-making about the caucuses.

“The problem with many of them is they are not electable at the national level, and that’s extremely important,” said Jean Lees, who supported Romney in his second-place caucus finish in 2008.

Bachmann jabbed indirectly at Indiana’s Daniels, who called last year for a “truce” on social issues. That statement was seen by some as chiding the GOP’s evangelical right, although he has said the comment was aimed as much at curbing social liberals.

“Some people have said we need a truce on social issues,” she said. “I would highly disagree with that because the truth is that social conservatism is fiscal conservatism.”